by Paul West
Happy spring, sports fans, and welcome to more of my musings. We’re in an action-packed part of the sports calendar, and there’s much to pay attention to.
It’s too early to panic in Flushing
The New York Mets are 0-4. Their starting rotation is an infirmary. They’re tentative on defense, on the bases, and at the plate, and all this is in the shadow of an incredibly disappointing 2023 from which they’d hoped to bounce back. Panic is already setting in among some Mets fans, and the baseball world is already muttering. But there are reasons this might be premature.
First, the Mets’ bullpen looks solid once again, anchored by Edwin Diaz, who already looks in peak form. They hard multiple hard-hit balls in their season opener, despite being one-hit, and are actually among the league leaders in exit velocity after four games. Their defense will remain solid, despite a couple of ill-timed defensive gaffes in game two. JD Martinez is on the way to add lineup protection, a rainout has given them a chance to take a deep breath, and this weekend they head to Cincinnati, where they’ve had some big scoring outputs in recent years (as have many). Whether they can contend for the playoffs as hoped is still to be determined; but they won’t be the bottom-barrel disaster some are already predicting.
Mike Trout will be on the trade market by July
The Angels are 4-3, by way of beating up the now 0-7 Marlins; but they opened the season losing by football scores to the Orioles, and they’re stuck in the buzz-saw that is the American League West. They might not mark their ninth straight losing season, but it seems likely that they’ll be trading on the edge of contention at best when mid-summer rolls around. At this point, the ‘how long will Mike Trout stick it out with the Angels?’ talk will reach swell yet again; and with Trout approaching both 33 years old and the middle of his historic 2019 contract extension, the Angels will finally have to listen to offers for their long-time centerpiece. Trout’s injury history has has some wondering if he’ll experience the kind of precipitous injury-related decline that’s befallen many a superstar (Don Mattingly, Larry Bird, Bo Jackson) before him, but a contender looking to force-multiply their lineup might gladly take an expensive chance on the likely first-ballot Hall of Famer.
The Orioles could be a looming powerhouse
The Baltimore Orioles have truly contended only a couple of times since winning the 1983 World Series. There was the Brady Anderson team that led the AL East for the entire season, a couple of disappointing playoff exits, and long stretches of losing seasons along the way. There was also the 69-93 2011 team that participated in the March Madness-esque Day 162 spectacle, beating the Red Sox on a walkoff single within moments of midnight…then went on to literally flip that record in 2012, only to lose the ALDS to the Yankees. The Orioles have been ‘close, but no cigar’ a few times, and last season won 101 games–only to be swept in woeful fashion in the ALDS.
This season, they look like they could challenge the 100-win plateau again, but a year of playoff experience under the belts of their youthful squad. They’ve added a big-time ace in Corbin Burmes, a renowned closer in Craig Kimbrel, and veterans with playoff experience in Tony Kemp and James McCann. Their young stars–like Anthony Santander, Cedric Mullins, and Adley Rutschman–are a year more seasoned; and they’re still adding impressive new talent like Jordan Westburg and Gunnar Henderson. The AL East is loaded, but no one seems poised to run away with it–unless this team continues improving. In a few months, we could be looking at them as the team to beat in the American League.
P Dub's Sports Hub 